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New Delhi: A local journalist based in Rajkot, Gujarat, Sudesh Vadecha, has alleged that he was subjected to severe torture while in police custody. Vadecha, who runs an online media outlet titled ‘Khabar Rajkot Ki News’, claimed that Rajkot Crime Branch deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Jagdish Bangadwa and his team subjected him to a brutal beating and inhumane treatment.

However, the police have categorically denied these claims, terming them as “drama.”

Speaking to The Wire over the phone, Vadecha recounted that on March 22, the police apprehended him from a location approximately two kilometers from his residence.

“Crime Branch personnel took me away without offering any explanation,” he alleged. “I was beaten up in connection with an alleged extortion case. They stripped me naked and poured petrol into my genitals. I was suspended upside down and thrashed like an animal which led to a ruptured eardrum, a fractured leg, and severe injuries to my back and head.”

According to Vadecha, he was admitted to the Rajkot Civil Hospital on March 23. He alleged, “When I was discharged 24 hours later, my condition had deteriorated. I arrived at the hospital via a ‘108’ ambulance, but even there, police officers were pressuring the doctors not to admit me. I was also threatened with being implicated in false cases and having my house demolished.”

The journalist asserted that the entire episode is connected to a builder named Asim Agam, regarding whose illegal construction activities he had previously reported. “There was no substantial complaint against me, yet – acting at his behest – I was framed and subjected to this assault,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, speaking to The Wire,........

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